Lifting and transporting sling for persons



' Feb. 15, 1966 E. FISCHER 3,234,568

LIFTING AND TRANSPORTING SLING FOR PERSONS Filed Aug. 10, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. fow/A/ Z. 556/45,?

ATTOENE V Feb. 15, 1966 E. FISCHER LIFTING AND TRANSPORTING SLING FOR PERSONS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 10, 1964 INVENTOR. fan ml L Asa/Me 3,234,568 LIFTING AND TRANSPORTING SLIN G FOR PERSONS Edwin L. Fischer, 22035 W. Carbon Mesa Road, Malibu, Calif. Filed Aug. 10, 1964, Ser. No. 388,582 8 Claims. (Cl. -89) This invention relates to lifting and transporting devices, particularly for inval'ids, and is primarily concerned with a sling mounted on the lifting and transporting device, such a device being disclosed and claimed in my US. Patent No. 3,137,011, of June 16, 1964.

Patient-supporting slings are known, some of which are of the type for commode use. Many of these prior slings only serve the function of transporting the patient and it is difficult to remove the sling when the patient is sitting on it, particularly in a wheel chair. In this case, it is necessary to lift the patient bodily to accomplish positioning and removing the sling under the patient.

Thus, the sling must be left constantly under the patient or considerable exertion and inconvenience for 'both the attendant and the patient or considerable exertion and inconvenience for both the attendant and the patient is required to position and remove such a sling. Furthermore, due to the variations of placement of the sling, the aperture is seldom in the right place or large enough.

The present type of sling is directed to one which is particularly convenient and easily operated since it is bifurcated in its frontal portion with overlapping flaps of fabric. These flaps, which are permanently attached to the central front portion of the seat of the sling, have anchoring means which enables them to be fastened in an overlapping fashion to the ends of the seat portion of the sling, the anchoring means being so constructed that the ends of the flaps can be connected in any order or sequence. When these flaps are unf-astened, they can be pulled back to increase the aperture of the seat for commode use.

Another feature of the sling is its ability to be placed under a patient while the patient is sitting in a wheel chair with-out the necessity of having to lift the patient. This is accomplished by slightly tipping the patient forward in the seat and sliding the center portion of the sling under the back and buttocks of the patent without lifting him. When the overlapping flaps are then brought under his thighs one at a time and anchored in place, full support of the patient is provided. The sling is removed by the reverse procedure.

The separate frontal flaps can also be attached on their respective sides to surround the legs of a spastic patient or those similarly in need of support and restraint since each leg of the patient is separately supported and restrained.

The construction of the sling permits it to be used with a separate head support sling if needed by the patient. The head sling may be easily attached and detached as the condition of the patient requires it, this particular sling being primarily intended for institutional use for severely incapacitated patients who need full body support.

The principal object of the invention, therefore, is to tates Patent 0 ice facilitate the lifting, transporting, and positionng of a patient.

Another object of the invention is to provide a bodysupporting sling connectable to a patient lifting and transporting device which is suitable for both supporting and restraining patients.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved patient or invalid supporting sling which may be placed under a patient and removed without requiring the lifting of the patient.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an improved patient-supporting sling suitable for commode use with safety and maximum convenience.

A better understanding of this invention may be had from the follow-ing detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a sling embodying the invention attached to a lifting and transporting device and wit-h a patient in the sling;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the sling without a patient and with the frontal flaps folded back;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing one form of use of the sling with a head support and attachment for restraining a person;

FIG. 4 is a developed plan view of the sling in a horizontal plane;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of the seat portion of the sling; and

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the fastenings of the sling taken along the line 66 of FIG. 5.

Referring, now, to the drawings in which the same reference numerals identify the same elements, a lifting and transporting device is shown having a base 5, a standard 6 with a handcrank 7 for moving a brace 8 up and down to raise and lower a sling-supporting arm 10. This device is disclosed and claimed in my above-mentioned patent. Attached to the free end of the arm 10 is a swivel hook 12 in an eye 13 of a frame 14 to which the sling embodying the invention is attached.

In FIG. 1, a patient is shown in the sling which has a back support section 15, a seat portion 16 with an interconnecting portion 17. Two thigh-supporting frontal flaps are shown at 26 and 27, these flaps being a part of seat section 16. The seat section 16, better shown in FIGS. 2, 4, and 5, has an opening 24 therein which is increased in size by folding back the flaps 26 and 27 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 5.

The sling is attached to the frame 14 by the backs-upporting section 15 as shown in FIGS. 2, 3, and 4 by hooks 32 and 33 attached to chains 34 and 35 shown in FIG. 1. The seat section 16 is attached to its triangular supports 37 and 38, these triangular members being attached, in turn, to chains 43 and 44 to the frame 14 as shown in FIG. 1.

With the patient in a wheel chair, for example, the sling is positioned under him by first placing the seat section behind him, leaning the person forward and sliding the seat portion under his buttocks. The person is then leaned back and the seat section can be moved forward under the persons thighs when his knees are raised slightly. The triangular supports 37 and 38 and the back section 15 may have been previously attached to chains 43, 44, 34, and 35.

The next step in fastening the sling to the patent is to take one of the frontal flaps, such as 26, and place it under the thighs of the patient and attach it to the D-ring 47 by the flaps snap fastener 46. The other flap 27 is now passed under the thighs and its snap fastener 48 is attached to D-ring 50. Reference is made to FIGS. 1 and 4 to show the sling after these connections are made, one person being capable of so positioning the sling, and after raising the patient from the wheel chair, to transport him wherever desired.

Referring to FIG. 3, it will be noted that each of the flaps 26 and 27 may be around only the leg of the patient adjacent thereto. That is, flap 26 will be wrapped around the right leg of the patient and its snap fastener 46 attached in D-ring 50. Also, flap 27 will surround the left leg'of the patient with its snap fastener 48 attached to D-ring 47'. In this manner, the patient is completely restrained.

For common use, the patent is raised and transported by the lifting device and positioned over the commode and then lowered to the seat. Then the flaps 26 and 27, after detachment from the D-rings, are folded back under the patent to increase the opening 24 and to prevent any accident. during, the commode, use (see FIGS. 2 and 5). In this manner, it is not necessary to remove the patient from the sling but the sling may remain in position during commode use and quickly refastened for lifting and transportation.

It will be noted in FIGS. 2, 3, and 4 that a head-supporting portion 52 is shown attached by snap buttons 53 to the back. support 15 through interconnecting portion 55, this headsupport having straps 56 and 57 with snap fasteners 58 and 59, respectively, for fastening to the frame 14 as shown in FIG. 1. If thehead support is not required, this portion of the sling may be removed.

FIG. 6 shows the construction of the attachment of the supporting member 38 to the seat 16 together with D-ring 47- and anchoringstrap 40. The arrows indicate that the D-ring may be positioned inside or outside of the seat 16. The sling: with its. corner reinforcements may be of: any flexible material such as cloth webbing, canvas, or the like.

The above-described sling has the many advantages listed above which permit one attendant to conveniently position the sling under a patient while in a wheel chair, for example, and to connect it to the frame of the lifting and transporting device shown in FIG. 1 and in my above-mentioned patent. The sling also has the feature of providing considerable restraint to a person such as a spastic patient, as shown in FIG. 3. Another advantage is the commode use of the sling which permits the patient to be positioned on a commode without difficulty and with safety.

I claim:

1. A lifting and'transporting sling for an incapacitated person comprising a back-supporting section and a seatsupporting section adapted to be attached to and transported on an overhead frame, said seat section having a pair of separate frontal flap portions, connected thereto and forming apart of said seat section, each of said flap portions being adapted to be placed under the thighs of said person and attached to the opposite ends of said' seat section, the central. portion of said seat section being bifurcated.

2. A lifting and transporting sling for incapacitated persons comprising a back-supporting section and a seat-supporting section adapted to be attached to and transported on an overhead frame, said seat section having a pair of separate frontal flap portions attached thereto and parallel with said seat section, each of said flap portions being adapted to be placedunder the thighs of a person and attached to the opposite ends of said seat section, said seat section being provided with a central aperture, said aperture being increasable in size when said flap portions are disconnected from the ends of said seat section and folded back.

3. A lifting and transporting sling in accordance with claim 1 in which each flap portion can be wrapped around a leg of said person, the end of each flap portion being connectable to the end of said seat portion adjacent the respective leg of said person.

4. A lifting and transporting sling for persons comprising a seat section adapted to be placed under the buttocks of said person when said person are bent forward from a sitting position and adapted to be placed under the thighs of said person when said persons are returned to normal sitting position, said seat section having a pair of front flaps centrally connected to said seat section and adapted to be placed under the thighs of said persons with the ends of said flaps attachable to the opposite ends of said seat section, said ends of said seat section being attachable to a support for said sling, and a back-supporting section attached to said seat section and attachable to said support, said seat section, said front flaps, and said back-supporting section being integral.

5. A lifting and transporting sling for persons comprising a seat section adapted to be placed under the buttocks of said persons when said persons are bent forward from a setting position and adapted to be placed under the thighs of said persons when said persons are returned to normal. sitting position, said seat section having a pair of front flaps centrally attached to said seat section and adapted to be placed under the thighs of said persons with the ends of said flaps attachable to the opposite ends of said s'eat section, said ends of said seat section being attachable to a support for said sling, and a back-supporting section attached to said seat section and attachable to said support, said seat section having a substantially circular aperture in its central portion, said aperture extending to the edge of said flaps to permit each of said flaps to be folded back on itself to increase the size of said aperture;

6. A lifting and transporting sling in accordance with claim 4 in which a head supporting section is attachable to and detachable from said back-supporting section and said support, said head-supporting section being attached to said back-supporting section along the upper edge thereof.

7. A sling for supporting a person during the lifting and transportingof said person comprising a flexible sling including a back-supporting section for a person in normal sitting position, a seat-supporting section connected to said back-supporting section and having a main portion adapted to be placed under the buttocks of said person when in a bent-forward position, and a pair of thigh-supporting flap sections connected to said seat-supporting section. and adapted to be placed under the thighs of said person when the thighs of said person are raised and said person returned to normal sitting position, the ends of said flap sections being attachable to opposite ends of said seat section, the central area of said seat-supporting section being bifurcated, said thigh flap sections being a continuation of saidbifurcated seat-supporting sections.

8. A sling for supporting a person during the lifting.

and transporting of said person comprising a four-sectional flexible sling including a back-supporting section for a person in normal sitting position, a seat-supporting section attached to said back-supporting section and having a main portion adapted to be placed under the buttocks of said person when in a bent-forward position, and a pair of thigh-supporting flap sections adapted to be placed under the thighs of said person when the thighs of said person are raised and said person returned to 5 overlap under the thighs of said person and each of said other ends being attachable to the opposite end of said seat section and in another position each flap section surrounds the thigh of said person, its other end being attachable to the adjacent end of said seat section.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,018,723 2/1912 Miller et a1. 587

Bancroft 589 Hoyer et a1 5-87 X Flandrick 586 X Fischer 586 FRANK B. SHERRY, Primary Examiner.

R. D. KRAUS, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A LIFTNG AND TRANSPORTING SLING FOR AN INCAPACITATED PERSON COMPRISING A BACK-SUPPORTING SECTION AND A SEATSUPPORTING SECTION ADAPTED TO BE ATTACHED TO AND TRANSPORTED ON AN OVERHEAD FRAME, SAID SEAT SECTION HAVING A PAIR OF SEPARATE FRONTAL FLAP PORTIONS CONNECTED THERETO AND FORMING A PART OF SAID SEAT SECTION, EACH OF SAID FLAP PORTIONS BEING ADAPTED TO BE PLACED UNDER THE THIGHS OF SAID PERSON AND ATTACHED TO THE OPPOSITE ENDS OF SAID SEAT SECTION, THE CENTRAL PORTION OF SAID SEAT SECTION BEING BIFURCATED. 